Ocean Liner

Investigators determined the world's widest ocean liner sideswiped a channel wall on its way out of Port Everglades, but the damage won't stop the Queen Mary 2 from continuing its voyage. The massive liner can still travel -- just not as fast -- and was expected to resume its 38-night South American cruise early today, officials said. The Queen Mary 2 had departed Port Everglades on Tuesday afternoon when about five miles out its captain reported trouble with one of four engine pods on the ship's hull.

Cunard Line's newest ship, Queen Elizabeth, will make its Fort Lauderdale debut on Sunday and rendezvous with the line's Queen Victoria ocean liner, both stopping through on around-the-world cruises. The meeting of the grande dames recalls the nearly 40 years when the sleek Queen Elizabeth 2 or QE2 graced Port Everglades as its winter home. The QE2 was retired in 2008. To see the two royals Sunday, a good place to watch is the 17th St. Causeway bridge, which has parking on both sides and a standing area on the bridge.

South Florida is hosting a royal visitor today with the arrival of the Queen Mary 2 at Port Everglades, expected shortly after 7 a.m. Befitting royalty, the Cunard Line ship will be escorted to the port entrance by a Coast Guard cutter and a Navy destroyer. Gov. Jeb Bush will meet the ship from a pilot vessel even before it docks. Tugboats will shoot plumes of colored water into the air, banners will fly from condominium towers, and a high school band will add to the festive atmosphere.

Investigators determined the world's widest ocean liner sideswiped a channel wall on its way out of Port Everglades, but the damage won't stop the Queen Mary 2 from continuing its voyage. The massive liner can still travel -- just not as fast -- and was expected to resume its 38-night South American cruise early today, officials said. The Queen Mary 2 had departed Port Everglades on Tuesday afternoon when about five miles out its captain reported trouble with one of four engine pods on the ship's hull.

Cunard Line recently announced plans to build the first true ocean liner constructed in the last 30 years. The Queen Mary 2, a sleek trans-Atlantic ship that will carry 2,500 passengers, will speed voyagers across the North Atlantic, beginning in 2003. The original Queen Mary, once a symbol of its age, is now a floating hotel in Southern California. Cunard predicts the new vessel, which is still in the early design stage, will be "the largest passenger ship ever built." But don't groan "oh, no, not another one!"

The career of Richard Lester, a knock-about comedy director remembered by film buffs primarily for making A Hard Day`s Night and Help!, took an eclectic turn in the `70s. In addition to making one of the Superman films, the "prequel" to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Robin and Marian, he directed a straightforward, workmanlike "disaster" movie, 1974`s Juggernaut (8 p.m., WCIX-Ch. 6). It`s about a bomb supposedly placed on an ocean liner that has to be found and defused by Richard Harris (giving one of his less- mannered performances)

Riviera Beach came two steps closer to an improved employment picture Thursday. The Port of Palm Beach Commission unanimously approved the cargo port`s first ocean liner operation, subject to negotiations. County leaders said the ocean liner would help area hotels, restaurants and taxi services. And in a 4-1 vote, the commission approved negotiations with a group to create a foreign trade zone, which eventually would employ 2,000. The commission approved issuing licenses to Grundstad Maritime Overseas Inc. of Boca Raton, which manages Crown Cruise Line.

By ALAN CHERRY and DAVID FLESHLER Staff Writers and Staff Writers Tom Stieghorst, Luisa Yanez, Vanessa Bauza, Diego Bunuel and Robert Nolin contributed to this report, July 23, 1998

Government fire investigators swarmed the scorched rear decks of the crippled ocean liner Ecstasy on Wednesday, raising more questions about how the blaze started. A team with about 40 members, headed by the National Transportation and Safety Board, finally gained its first full day on the 2,575-passenger ship, which caught fire early Monday evening _ only a few minutes out of the Port of Miami on a cruise to Mexico. Authorities discounted _ but did not exclude _ speculation by the ocean liner's owners, Carnival Cruise Lines, that the fire was started by a welder in a lower laundry area and spread upward through vents to an open-air deck where flammable mooring ropes are stored.

Instead of balking at Gov. Lawton Chiles` ambitious plans for December`s special session, Florida legislators ought to follow his intelligent lead. They should take advantage of this special chance to reform and restructure the creaky and inefficient state government. There may never be a better climate than now for real reform. The recession compelled most private companies to rethink priorities and trim work forces, and many local governments also cut back. If state government finally does likewise, it will follow a current pattern made necessary by this long recession.

Cunard Line's newest ship, Queen Elizabeth, will make its Fort Lauderdale debut on Sunday and rendezvous with the line's Queen Victoria ocean liner, both stopping through on around-the-world cruises. The meeting of the grande dames recalls the nearly 40 years when the sleek Queen Elizabeth 2 or QE2 graced Port Everglades as its winter home. The QE2 was retired in 2008. To see the two royals Sunday, a good place to watch is the 17th St. Causeway bridge, which has parking on both sides and a standing area on the bridge.

South Florida is hosting a royal visitor today with the arrival of the Queen Mary 2 at Port Everglades, expected shortly after 7 a.m. Befitting royalty, the Cunard Line ship will be escorted to the port entrance by a Coast Guard cutter and a Navy destroyer. Gov. Jeb Bush will meet the ship from a pilot vessel even before it docks. Tugboats will shoot plumes of colored water into the air, banners will fly from condominium towers, and a high school band will add to the festive atmosphere.

Queen Mary 2, the first new trans-Atlantic liner built in 35 years, debuts next week in Fort Lauderdale, and South Florida is greeting her in style. A Coast Guard cutter and a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer, the USS Carney, are expected to escort the world's largest cruise ship to the mouth of Port Everglades when she arrives on her trans-Atlantic voyage Jan. 26. The ship is expected to tie up at Berth 21 shortly after 7 a.m. to disgorge its complement of 2,500 passengers and 1,200 crew.

While not everyone adores her, some speak of her in tones reserved for first loves. "Look at the shape of her hull," they say of the 43-year-old. "Check out her long pointed bow," say others. But the SS Norway is undergoing a different kind of scrutiny these days as the National Transportation Safety Board investigates the explosion that ripped through the ship's boiler room May 25, killing seven crew members. It will likely be a year before the NTSB concludes its investigation. Meanwhile, survivors mourn their losses.

If I've been grumbling about how painful it is to fly, about all the hoops you have to jump through to board an airliner, please forgive me. I'm here to tell you that hopping on a plane is a piece of cake -- compared to walking the plank onto an ocean liner. Further, if I have been whimpering about uncomfortable seats, surly flight attendants and lousy food on your average flight, please tell me to stow it. None of that is nearly as bad as being seasick, rocking in rough seas with no escape or hope of immediate relief.

Broward Sheriff's Office detectives are looking for a man suspected of raping a woman aboard a Sea Escape "cruise to nowhere" over the weekend. A photo of a suspect, taken after he boarded the ship on Sunday evening, was released on Monday after the man was picked out of a photo lineup by several witnesses. All passengers are photographed when they board the ship, a company spokesman said. On Sunday, about 1,100 passengers took the six-hour cruise. The attack occurred about 1:30 a.m. as the ship was pulling into Port Everglades after a six-hour cruise.

As the Nieuw Amsterdam passed through Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park, Carl and Sue Durnell were enjoying a leisurely breakfast of bacon and eggs on the ship's Lido deck. But the deafening blare of fire alarms cut short their meal. They hurried to their room two decks below to retrieve their life jackets. Four minutes later, Carl Durnell opened the cabin door and faced a wall of smoke so thick he couldn't see his hand. Durnell desperately banged on a fire exit -- which was closed to contain the smoke -- and shouted for help.

Good times were rockin' at New Horizon United Methodist Church during a recent show that took the audience on a musical stroll from the Big Band era of the 1930s to the 1950s and '60s rock 'n' roll scene. About 450 people attended the musical Starlight Cafe that ran April 23-25 at the church at 5741 S. Flamingo Road in Sunshine Ranches west of Cooper City. This marked the fourth year the church staged the production. "We look forward to it every year, even though it is a lot of hard work," said Doni Alexander, the show's producer.

South Florida's warm climate attracts northerners who are technically "retired" but who can offer bountiful knowledge to us, if we would but listen. The most welcome combination is a transplanted northerner with deep knowledge, rare wisdom and a gentle civility woven into the personality. Stanley Goodman had those qualities, and a mellow outlook to boot. So did Victor Bienstock. Both have passed on - Stanley last week, Vic a couple of years ago - and I've lost invaluable threads to the best of yesterday and softly given guidance for today and tomorrow.

Aviation has always been about pushing the envelope, striving to fly higher or faster. Now the quest is to fly bigger, or in the case of Airbus Industrie, gargantuan. By the end of this year, the European aerospace consortium plans to officially launch a $12 billion program to manufacture an enormous airliner that is temporarily being called the A3XX. Emirates Airlines, Dubai's state-owned carrier, has committed to purchasing five of the super jumbos with options to buy another five.

Cunard Line recently announced plans to build the first true ocean liner constructed in the last 30 years. The Queen Mary 2, a sleek trans-Atlantic ship that will carry 2,500 passengers, will speed voyagers across the North Atlantic, beginning in 2003. The original Queen Mary, once a symbol of its age, is now a floating hotel in Southern California. Cunard predicts the new vessel, which is still in the early design stage, will be "the largest passenger ship ever built." But don't groan "oh, no, not another one!"